JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said Friday it had killed a Hezbollah weapons smuggler in a strike on eastern Lebanon a day earlier, the latest attack since a November ceasefire halted the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Lebanon’s health ministry on Thursday reported one death and one injury in a strike on a vehicle in Hermel, the area the Israeli military said it had targeted.
In a statement, the military said the Israeli air force “conducted an intelligence-based strike in the area of Hermel and eliminated the terrorist Mohammed Mahdi Ali Shaheen... who had been coordinating terrorist transactions for the purchase of weapons.”
It added that the slain militant had “recently been involved in transporting weapons from Syria to Lebanon.”
His actions, according to the military statement, “posed a threat to the State of Israel and constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon” that ended the war with Hezbollah.
A Lebanese lawmaker for Hezbollah, Ihab Hamadeh, condemned the strike on the group’s Telegram channel, saying it had targeted “innocent civilians.”
The November 27 truce agreement ended more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, including two months of all-out war during which Israel sent in ground troops.
Israel continues to carry out regular strikes on Lebanese territory and the two sides regularly accuse each other of violating the truce, which nevertheless has largely held.
Israeli forces were to pull out from Lebanon on February 18 under the agreement, but kept troops at five locations that authorities deemed “strategic” in Lebanon’s south, near the border.
On Thursday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces would remain indefinitely in what he called a “buffer zone” in southern Lebanon.
The conflict significantly weakened Hezbollah and decimated its leadership.
The hostilities were initiated by Hezbollah in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas after the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza.
Israel says killed Hezbollah militant in Lebanon strike
https://arab.news/5daxt
Israel says killed Hezbollah militant in Lebanon strike
- The slain militant had “recently been involved in transporting weapons from Syria to Lebanon“
- A Lebanese lawmaker for Hezbollah, Ihab Hamadeh, condemned the strike
Amman ranks among world’s top cities after first Quality of Life Index
- Jordanian capital second Arab city to be ranked in UN-backed index after Saudi Arabia’s Madinah
AMMAN: Jordan’s capital Amman has completed its first Quality of Life Index, ranking among the world’s leading cities to be assessed under the globally recognized framework, it was reported on Monday.
As a result, the city has become only the second in the Arab world — after Saudi Arabia’s Madinah — to be ranked in the program.
The Greater Amman Municipality said the city placed 10th globally out of 100 participating cities, with its index set to be officially listed on the international Quality of Life platform, the Jordan News Agency reported.
The assessment was developed in collaboration with the Quality of Life Initiative of the UN Human Settlements Programme — known as UN-Habitat — to advance urban well-being and human-centered development.
The Quality of Life Index combines objective data with residents’ perceptions, using global well-being indicators alongside local measures, offering a comprehensive picture of daily life.
The index measures performance across nine key areas: basic services, mobility, culture and recreation, education, environment, economy, governance, health and well-being, and housing and social cohesion.
Yousef Shawarbeh, the mayor of Amman, said the initiative aimed to support the city’s long-term vision of becoming a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable urban center, Petra reported.
He added that the index provided deeper insight into residents’ lived experiences and would help guide policymaking to improve quality of life.
Akram Khraisat, director of the Amman Urban Observatory, said the city’s participation marked a major step toward data-driven urban planning.
He added that the index would enable the municipality to better prioritize services, promote inclusive development, and assess the impact of policies on residents’ well-being, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Officials said the initiative complemented a range of ongoing development projects in the capital, including public transport improvements, participatory greening and urban agriculture schemes, climate action planning, digital transformation initiatives and the Greater Amman Municipality Strategic Plan 2022–2026.
